Hoosier Super Tour Portland 2023: Sunday Notebook

Just like racecars on track, the 2023 Hoosier Racing Tire SCCA^® Super Tour (HST) is flying by fast. This weekend’s event, hosted May 13-14 by SCCA’s Oregon Region at Portland International Raceway (PIR), was the eighth of 10 stops on the calendar this year. And PIR was the third and final West Coast track on HST’s schedule for the season. That also made it the last shot some drivers would take at amassing Hoosier Super Tour Nationwide Points before the Runoffs roll around this fall at VIRginia International Raceway.

Perhaps that thought was on the minds of certain competitors as drivers pulled out of pitlane and on to the 1.977-mile, 12-turn circuit Sunday morning for 15-minute qualifying sessions under completely clear skies and comfortable conditions thanks to a slight breeze. However, temperatures jumped into the mid 80-degree range at noon when 35-minute or 25-lap races commenced. And as the day progressed, competitors in later races had to face temperatures in the low 90-degree range, which tested drivers and machines alike.

Not Today: Spec Miata (SM) driver Jason Rawlins has been on a roll for two weekends in a row. He took two HST wins in SM at Thunderhill Raceway Park last weekend, and capped it off with a Western Shootout Championship in the class. Saturday at PIR, he added another SM win to his tally.

Those victories caused fellow SM competitor Nick Leverone some consternation. In all those races it has been Leverone chasing Rawlins around tracks. He’s been able to get right on Rawlins’ bumper, but failed to come home with a victory.

Leverone, however, is a smart cookie. He has been taking notes and recognized that Rawlins pulls away early in races, then drops off the pace a bit. So, Leverone and his No. 194 Flatout Motorsports Mazda Miata started Sunday’s race at PIR with a plan, which was not to let Rawlins get too far ahead at the start.

As usual, Rawlins jumped to the lead early. But by lap nine, Leverone grabbed the top spot. Making things tricky at PIR, the SM class competed in the second run group with several other car classes. That meant traffic to deal with ahead, and quick cars approaching from behind.

Leverone’s lead never exceeded much more than a half-second. By lap 15, Rawlins fought his way back to the front. The two skilled drivers tussled tooth and nail the rest of the way, which thrilled onlookers. In the end, Leverone got the victory by 0.850sec over runner-up Rawlins.

“Not today!” That was Leverone’s proclamation after accepting his first-place trophy during victory podium celebrations. “Jason kept me on my toes the whole time today. Any little mistake I made; I saw him right on my bumper. He was better than me in a couple of spots, and he was making moves to try and force me into a mistake. He kept the pressure on the whole time.”

Also in the second run group, E Production drivers Austin Bradshaw and Kurt Frietzsche were again having a close race in a pair of Mazda RX-7s. Bradshaw came out on the short end Saturday, and Sunday was Frietzsche’s turn for bad luck. Car issues forced Frietzsche into the pits on lap 19, and Bradshaw drove the No. 41 Valvoline/Cobalt Brakes/AR Motorsports/Goodyear Mazda RX-7 to victory.

The Spec MX-5 Challenge (SMX) series also made a special appearance at PIR this weekend during HST activities, and competed in the second run group. Will Schrader, driving the No. 8 Miatacage/Schrader Properties LLC Mazda MX-5, emerged victorious Sunday after falling short the day before and settling for a runner-up finish.

For those unfamiliar, the SMX field is part of a series positioned between Spec Miata and Global MX-5 Cup. It’s not an official HST competition class, and drivers do not receive Hoosier Super Tour points. But the Spec MX-5 Challenge is a driver development series that offers a variety of competitions to support karters, novice road racers, masters, and even some professionals. Plus, the series will end its season with two races during the 2023 National Championship Runoffs at VIRginia International Raceway. While SMX will not be a recognized SCCA National Championship race at the Runoffs, Spec MX-5 Challenge drivers can still win over $70,000 in prize money.

The SRF3 Winner Is … : You can always expect an exciting Spec Racer Ford Gen3 (SRF3) race at PIR HST events. Saturday’s race was a nailbiter, and Sunday was no letdown.

A full-course yellow bunched up the 20-car field just past the race’s midpoint. The restart saw Calvin Harris in the lead with Saturday winner Caleb Shrader tucked right up underneath him. And Cooper Becklin was watching it all in third place less than nine yards back.

When the white flag waived, Harris and Shrader were side-by-side with Becklin right behind. The last, looping, righthand turn before the main straight decided things. Harris and Shrader went off on the outside of Turn 11. Becklin avoided the mess and reached the checkered flag first.

That didn’t cement things as Becklin was later penalized by SCCA Stewards. When the sun set at PIR Sunday, it was Todd Harris in the No. 24 Pro Drive Racing/Flat Out Racing/HMS car who got the SRF3 victory. Calvin Harris was runner-up, and Christian Guirguis finished third.

While Caleb Shrader did not finish on the SRF3 podium, he did claim victory later Sunday in the Formula Enterprises®2 class driving the No. 99 Bulldog Motorsports/Liquid Death car.

Pesky Gremlins: Prototype 1 (P1) competition has been interesting for two consecutive weekends – or more. You’ve got reigning P1 Runoffs winner Chip Romer facing former P1 National Champion Jim Devenport. Both are very skilled and accomplished competitors, and both have immaculately prepared cars.

Devenport and Romer have both been part of all three West Coast HST events this year. Devenport swept the Buttonwillow Raceway Park HST weekend, and did the same last weekend at Thunderhill Raceway Park. But Romer was very competitive at both previous races, too, and just seems to mysteriously encounter hiccups along the way.

Saturday at PIR, Romer was leading when things went awry once again. His Elan DP02 started strong, then lap times faltered as compared to Devenport in the No. 23 Cranbrook Group Inc. Elan DP02 Mazda. Late in the race, Devenport got by for the lead. Romer fought back to apply copious amounts of pressure on the last lap. But exiting the final turn on the final lap, Romer’s car just quit. It shut down and coasted to a stop about 100 yards from the finish. He restarted the car and finished, but the gremlins that caused the shutdown were perplexing to say the least.

Sunday at PIR saw Romer out front again. The car and driver both looked strong. Halfway through the race, Romer had a four-second lead on Devenport. By lap 18, however, Devenport was within 0.638sec of Romer; and on lap 19 the gap was only 0.493sec between first and second. On lap 20, Devenport was ahead and went on to victory.

Romer finished in the runner-up position, again, and knows there’s work to do before the 2023 Runoffs this fall at VIRginia International Raceway. But he believes he’ll settle the score with Devenport at some point.

“We’ve just had gremlins all weekend,” Romer said about his experience at PIR. “The car would get off good … but something happened at Thunderhill with all the water that was sitting in our tub. I’m not sure what’s going on, especially after back-to-back weekends without tearing down the car.”

Meanwhile, Devenport is riding a wave of victories. So much so that he’s reconsidering an appearance at the 2023 Runoffs.

“Originally, I wasn’t even going to do the Runoffs this year,” Devenport said. “But I told my team that if I got six Hoosier Super Tour wins, I’d do it. Now, I’m sitting with seven wins. So, I’m kind of on the hook.”

Monumental GT Moment: Justin Dempsey, in the No. 55 Chevrolet Camaro, took the GT-1 win Saturday during Big Bore’s sixth run group at PIR. He was on pace to repeat Sunday when car troubles surfaced, and he pulled off course. That gifted Dominic Martinolich the GT-1 victory in his No. 42 Almond Asphalt/HRP World Ford Mustang.

But Sunday’s Big Bore run group overall winner was a GT-2 car piloted by Scotty B. White. In ambient track temperatures surpassing 90 degrees, the No. 0 GOT CDL?/Hawk Brake/Goodyear/Extreme CMT Dodge Viper Comp Coupe produced a solid performance for White.

Want to know how hot it was? White – known for fervent, energetic and loquacious victory podium presentations -- simply stated: “It’s hot. I’m short on words.”

Going to The Glen: When the final checkered flag flew Sunday at PIR, that signified the conclusion of West Coast races on the 2023 HST schedule. Only two events remain on the HST calendar, the next one being June 2-4 at Watkins Glen International in New York. Driver and worker registration is open now for those three days of action hosted by SCCA’s Glen Region.

Once again, all three days of HST activity from The Glen can be viewed live, online and for free thanks to the popular Hoosier Super Tour enhanced video and audio broadcast new this year. But you can relive the weekend in Portland with on-demand video playback of the event available in a couple days at the SCCA YouTube channel. Also find post-race video interviews with some Saturday winners, and Sunday victory podium celebration videos, at the SCCA Road Racing Facebook page.

Sunday Race Winners: Below are provisional race winners from Sunday’s Hoosier Super Tour at Portland International Raceway with Class: Name, Hometown and Car. An asterisk (*) denotes drivers with a weekend sweep in the class.
American Sedan^®: Ed Zabinski; Stockbridge, GA; Ford Mustang
*B-Spec: Tom Tuttle; Austin, TX; Mini Cooper
E Production: Austin Bradshaw; Dundee, OR; Mazda RX-7
*F Production: Garry Small; Damascas, OR; Volvo P1800
*H Production: Bill Okell; Victoria, BC; MG Midget
*Formula Atlantic^®: Tony Opheim; Garfield, WA; Swift 014.a Toyota
*Formula Continental^®: Hunter Tatman; Fort Collins, CO; Van Diemen RF06
*Formula Enterprises^®2: Caleb Shrader; Tigard, OR; SCCA Enterprises FE2 Mazda
*Formula Vee^®: Quinn Posner; Camas, WA; Protoform P3
GT-1: Dominic Martinolich; Kennewick, WA; Ford Mustang
GT-2: Scotty B. White; Auburn, WA; Dodge Viper Comp Coupe
*GT-3: Collin Jackson; Langley, BC; Nissan 240SX
*GT-Lite: Scott Twomey; Tacoma, WA; Toyota Tercel
Spec Miata: Nick Leverone; Mendon, MA; Mazda Miata
Spec MX-5 Challenge: Will Schrader; Happy Valley, OR; Mazda Spec MX-5
Spec Racer^® Ford Gen3: Todd Harris; Portland, OR; Spec Racer Ford Gen3
*Prototype 1: Jim Devenport; Alamo, CA; Elan DP02 Mazda
*Prototype 2: John MacIntyre; San Jose, CA; Stohr WF1
*Super Touring^® Lite: David Palfenier; Miami, FL; Mazda RF
*Super Touring^® Under: Rylan Hazelton; Soquel, CA; Honda S2000
*Touring 2: Gamaliel Aguilar-Gamez; Renton, WA; BMW M240iR
*Touring 3: Chris Hart; Yakima, WA; Nissan 370z
*Touring 4: Marc Cefalo; Swoyersville, PA; Mazda MX-5